Lunch & Sparkling Wine Tasting at Bolney Wine Estate, Bolney, West Sussex, England

It’s no secret how much Dan and I love our wines and we have a particular passion for English wines, as an emerging industry, right on our doorstep.  Don’t get me wrong, we love all wine and have spent many a happy day whiling away the hours in vineyards in Bordeaux, Tuscany, Rioja and most recently Franschhoek, but there’s something about supporting local wineries that we absolutely love. We have also, been fans of the wines from the Bolney Wine Estate for many years.  In fact, when we first started dating I treated him to a Gourmet Tour Wine Tasting & Lunch for a Valentine’s present and we both had a lovely day sampling all the wines and pairing them with different foods.

Today was another special occasion, our first wedding anniversary, and we were back for another wine tasting at Bolney to celebrate!

We were met by Isla who took us on a tour of the vineyard.  We walked amongst the vines and the grapes and were excited to see that the veraison was in full swing.  This is when the red grapes turn from green to red and begin to get sweeter meaning that they are nearly ready for harvest.  The grapes were beautiful, plump and juicy, and we even got to try a couple.  So different from the grapes you buy in a supermarket, which can just be little sugar bombs.  These were not as sweet but with more complex flavours and were so delicious.

Next up we were shown around the new winery.  It was built only last year and is a testament to how well Bolney are doing.  They outgrew the old winery so this new state of the art one will ensure they can keep producing and expanding into the future.

Then we headed back up to the restaurant for the best part – lunch and tasting!  The restaurant has the most beautiful view out over the vineyards and is a really special spot to have some food and try the wines. The menu at Bolney is designed around small plates that are perfect for sharing and each one comes with a recommended wine pairing from their portfolio.  They also offer wine flights if you want to try a few different wines instead of just choosing one.  Wine tasting at Bolney is always a decadent experience!

My personal favourite wine at Bolney is their Sparkling Blanc de Noirs.  This is a sparkling white wine made using only the red grapes which usually go into a sparkling wine (Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier).  I love it as it is slightly sweeter and richer than a traditional sparkling with all of the toasty, buttery, yeasty flavours that you would expect.

Having explained this our waiter suggested that we try the Sparkling Wine Flight.  It included a glass of the Blanc de Noirs, one of the Blanc de Blancs, one of the Sparkling Rosé and a glass of their Sparkling Red.  It would give us a really good overview of the different wines that Bolney produces and would also pair really well with the lunch dishes that we had chosen.

First up the lightest of the wines, the Blanc de Blancs.  This is the opposite of the Blanc de Noirs meaning that they use only white grapes to make this so it is 100% Chardonnay.  This wine is aged on the lees for around two and a half years giving it a nutty, creamy feel and it is very light, smooth and fresh, with notes of citrus and green apple.

Next up was my favourite, the Blanc de Noirs.  As expected, it had those delicious honied stone fruit flavours that I love (and it still remains my favourite wine that Bolney offers).

Then we moved on the Cuvée Rosé .  This is a vintage sparkling wine that definitely had nuances of strawberries and cream to it.  It was light, fresh and elegant and was not overpowered by the fruit flavours which can sometimes happen in a rosé.

Finally, we tried the Cuvée Noir.  Sparkling red is not very well known, in fact, I’ve only really ever had it here and in the Hunter Valley in Australia.  I love the fruity, spicy nature of it which is balanced by a creaminess that comes from ageing it for 18 months on the lees.  To me, it’s the kind of wine you could serve at a meat-heavy summer BBQ.  When the weather is hot and you don’t fancy a glass of red, this is the perfect alternative.  It would stand up to chargrilled steaks or a BBq’d burger and will be something your guests will probably not have tried before!

After tasting the sparkling wines, our food arrived and we were able to enjoy lunch, alongside our wine flight.  We had great fun trying to decide which wines paired best with which dishes.

Dan had ordered the Salt and pepper squid with chilli and chive along with a portion of chips.  True to form I’d gone for the Burrata Salad with olive tapenade and tomato and then we’d ordered the charred tenderstem broccoli with Romesco sauce and hazelnuts to share.  All the dishes were superb and beautifully presented.  The menu has been well thought out to pair with the wines and each mouthful was utterly delicious.

Not being a fan of desserts, Dan and I always gravitate towards cheese at the end of a meal, and today was no different.  We were desperate to try out a couple of the still wines so we ordered a cheese board along with a glass of Pinot Noir and one of the Estate Bacchus.

The Estate Bacchus is crisp and fresh with notes of elderflower and gooseberry.  It also had a slight ‘pineapple-y’ sweetness to it which took the edge off the acidity’

The Pinot Noir is the most common red grape grown in England due to its ability to ripen in a cooler climate.  It’s not usually one of my favourites as I prefer something heavier and full-bodied.  This was light with plenty of red fruit flavours, especially cherries and soft tannins, making it a great lunchtime in the sun choice for us!

We loved our decadent wine tasting at Bolney – it was the perfect start to our anniversary.  Then, it was off to Brighton for the rest of our romantic weekend getaway!

Bolney Wine Estate

Bolney Wine Estate, Foxhole Lane, Bolney, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 5NB

+44 (0) 1444 881 575

info@bolneywineestate.com

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